Word from the Chairman

The African Agriculture We want… Smallholder producers’ top priorities in the coming CAADP Kampala Declaration 2025.

Looking back to the genesis of Africa’s agriculture sector transformation, which faced significant challenges due to the structural adjustment programs (SAPs). These programs required African governments to withdraw support from the agriculture sector and other public sectors, leading to severe food insecurity, increased poverty, hunger, and social chaos across the continent.

In 2005, the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture sought to address these issues by calling for 10% of national budgets to be allocated to the agriculture sector within five years. However, by 2008, only a handful of these targets had been achieved. The Malabo Declaration in 2014 failed to strongly prioritize rural transformation at its core.

This message serves as a reminder to policymakers and lawmakers of the game-changing policies and investments that could elevate African agriculture to new heights in the next decade. It is crucial that we revisit and reinforce our commitment to these transformative strategies to ensure a prosperous future for our continent.

The CAADP Malabo Declaration 2024 implementations come to an end in 2025 when all African countries are not on track to achieve the seven goals (4th CAADP Biennial Review Report 2023)

Towards the new AU CAADP Kampala Declaration 2025, Smallholder Farmers are calling and demand for 3 game changer approaches to transform agriculture through rural Transformation…

Demand for Quality Rural Financing (for Good governance, rural electricity, quality rural roads, irrigation access water, quality education, ICT, market, better extension services) to make rural areas center of Agri-food Systems in Africa that could lead to quality, dignified happy prosperous rural life.
Focus on Agroecology as the backbone for sustainable food systems, resilience and wealth creation for smallholder farmers.
Call for Decentralization of the CAADP to rural areas to increase ownership to those who matters most so they can hold decision makers into account through social accountability.
Call for the ratification of the Kampala Declaration by parliaments at RECs and national level to give it legal mandate for financing and fully implementation

That is the agriculture we want.

Hakim Baliraine

ESAFF Chairperson